Misty Morning Mizzle

Late yesterday afternoon Jackie had photographed the porcine weather vane on Bull Hill. Gloomy as it was there was no mist.

We began the day by visiting the Royal Mail Delivery Office very early. Jackie parked outside on Lymington High Street while I entered the office to do battle about the non-delivery card featured yesterday. This related to a package which had not born sufficient postage. I plonked the card on the counter, simply stating that I had followed directions and posted the card to them only to receive it back in our own letter box the next day. Saying nothing, the gentleman I had spoken to walked away and returned with the ‘package’ which bore no postage at all.

When I expressed surprise at what this was I did receive an apology and was not asked to prove my identity. Returning to the car I handed Jackie the item and made my sister Jacqueline’s morning by, through gritted teeth, thanking her kindly for her Christmas card which undoubtedly cost us more to collect than it had cost her to buy.

While waiting for me Jackie had photographed a foggy High Street.

She pulled over at Undershore Road while I continued my conversation with my sister and

photographed some boats on Lymington River.

A pack of cyclists emerged from the mist on South Baddersley Road.

We diverted to Tanner’s Lane

where I stepped out to photograph the beach and its environs, including a flotilla of geese and solitary silent gulls. The honking of the larger birds drew my attention to how quiet the morning was. The only other sounds we heard on the whole trip were the mournful notes of foghorns and the plops of mizzle moisture dripping onto soggy leaves.

Jackie photographed a corner of the beach, and me on the silently sliding shingle.

The drips rippling the eponymous Lake made no sound as we made our way along Sowley Lane.

We drove along St Leonard’s Road to the relics of the Grange. Cattle peered through the gloom, and pigeons perched on the roof of the barn.

Our familiar group of ponies with their Shetland acolyte trotted briskly past, close enough to become more visible.

Those at East Boldre remained obscured.

At East End the thatcher’s fox still kept its quarry in sight.

It was not yet 11 a.m. as we returned home along Southampton Road.

For dinner this evening we enjoyed another helping of Jackie’s delicious beef pie served with similar, fresh, vegetables to yesterday, with which she drank Hoegaarden and I drank more of the Tempranillo.

98 comments

  1. The fog makes the countryside look ethereal and beautiful. Do all cars have a yellow license plate on the back, and a white one on the front? Some states here require a front plate, others don’t.

  2. Derrick we love the shot of you “emerging from the mist” like the narrator at the start of a documentary! So sophisticated! Is the fog a common occurrence in your area?

  3. Love the misty water colored photos. That fluorescent green really pops out. Nothing less satisfying than an unfulfilled bout of righteous indignation. ?

  4. My late 1800s etiquette book is quite firm on the subject of correspondence. “DON’T, through laziness, neglect to ascertain that the stamp you are affixing to the envelope is of sufficient value to defray the postage of the letter…Nothing is so annoying as to receive a letter, and to have to pay extra on the postage because of the negligence of the sender…”

  5. Jackie and Derrick,
    What marvelous misty morning mizzle photos! (Was it cold out?)
    Love the trees in the foggy mist and the geese and cattle! 🙂 Looks like the pigeons on the roof are social distancing. 🙂 And the AP’s photo of the GP is wonderful! 🙂
    Glad the mystery of the mail was solved. 🙂 A story to tell during family Christmas gatherings in the future. 🙂
    (((HUGS))) 🙂
    PS…the foggy misty days remind us that life isn’t just black or white. 🙂
    PPS…your descriptions and alliterations always entertain! 🙂

  6. What? All that trouble and not even a pair of socks? Well, that’s a poor do.
    I should tell Jacqueline not to bother with a card next year, she can wish you a Happy Christmas in person during your pre-Christmas meal! ?

    1. Or, bring the card with her.

      Tell you what, Derrick should send it back to her next year, sans postage. They can start a family tradition!

        1. My sister (In Canada) and I (in Australia) had a birthday card that read “From your sister to my sister” which we kept going for many years. I still have it, from its last exchange.

          Please do it. 🙂

          1. Will do 🙂 We have a bottle label that travels between us and Flo since she was about 10. It was peeled off the bottle in Ben & Jerry’s and after a certain amount of sticking on bodies our granddaughter slapped it on our windscreen. It has been smuggled in various containers backwards and forwards for years. It now resides with her in Kentucky………

  7. You both did a great job with the photos. I’m usually not a fan of dense fog, but these shots are beautiful. Not the greatest driving conditions…please don’t risk life and limb for your fans! 🙂

      1. I am writing an abstract foggy haze poem at the moment Derrick, and I might use one of your “foggy” photos , if that is ok ??

  8. You’ve conveyed a dense feeling of mystery in these photos. The moist air would be welcome since ours is very dry here. Tanner’s Lane sure needs some work. I have a feeling it may be like that for a while longer, though.

  9. I laughed aloud at your successful (?) run to the post office. Actually, you should count yourself lucky. I’m still waiting for a Christmas card from a Canadian friend that was mailed in 2020!

  10. Gosh, so even the shingle was sliding quietly! Isn’t it odd the way fog/thick mist mutes sound. What an anti-climax to discover your mysterious package was a Christmas card.

  11. The lovely streak of musical alliteration in the title has carried on into the post ahead. It is fascinating to watch the surroundings under the veil of mist, the busy streets and waterways and the woodland. The photographer too.

  12. That is certainly a very misty day. I don’t think we have had such weather here in Nottingham for a good while, and I can’t remember any proper fog for years. Ending the burning of coal has had a great impact in cities.

  13. I was sort of hoping that when you finally received the package it was not for you but for a next door neighbour.

    The misty fog is very atmospheric. I enjoyed the pictures.

  14. Ah, there is my favorite word, mizzle, again. I included it in one of my poems and received several thumbs-up comments plus one of my fellow bloggers highlighted my poem in her blog.

    A mizzly day –

    mizzly and grey, the

    sullen day brought on a smile

    beneath the rainbow

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